Missoula Gas Prices are Still 18 Cents Higher Than the National Average

For the eighth straight week, the national average price of gasoline has declined. Patrick DeHaan is the head of petroleum analysis at GasBuddy and he says prices in Montana are still struggling to catch up.

“Average prices in Montana have declined a penny in the last week and currently stand at $2.71 a gallon,” DeHaan said. “Missoula prices are a little bit higher, at $2.75. They are actually up just a few tenths of penny in the last week. National prices have actually continued to go down very slowly. They have dropped about a half a penny in the last week and stand at $2.57.”

DeHaan says we usually don’t see a big advantage in Montana prices until winter or early spring.

“That is when the advantage can last for a few months before catch up happens,” DeHaan said. “If gas prices continue to decline, I would expect that prices in Montana would as well. However, they will continue to be behind. There should be a considerable gap that continues for some time before Montana is finally able to catch up.”

According to DeHaan, we are just a few days away from switching to cheaper winter gas, which should help bring gas prices down over the weeks ahead.